Manually controlled copying machine



April 13, 1937:

,M. ROMAINE MANUALLY CONTROLLED COPYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28, 1935 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Muflflp/Pammf BY I ATTORNEY.

April 13, 1937. o N 2,076,865

MANUALLY CONTROLLED COPY ING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet3 6" INVENTOR. Mzzzzafiamw:

ATTORNEY.

Patented A r, 13, 1937 2,076,865

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANUALLY CONTROLLED COPYIN MACHINE MillardRomaine, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to v The Cincinnati Milling Machine00., Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 28,1935, Serial No. 56,579 12 Claims. (Cl. 90-62) This invention relates tomachine tools and The tracer in this machine is merely a rigid moreparticularly to improvements in copying member depending from the slideand having a machines of the non-automatic type. suitably shaped end ofequal diameter to the One of the main objects of this invention iscutter for engaging the pattern, and by means to provide an improvedform of piloting means of manual controls the end of the traceris kept 5for machines of the character described. in engagement with the patternduring relative Another object of this invention is to providetraversing movement between the slides, whereby improvements in machinesof the character de a surface is produced by the cutter having ageoscribed which will improve the accuracy of remetrical outline whichis congruent to tlie outproduction thereof. line of the pattern. 10

A further object of this invention is to km The disadvantages of thistype of machine are prove the construction and operation of suchthat-the tracer must beheld with considerable machines so as to reducethe eflort on the part pressure against he pattern in order that the ofthe operator. cutter may be held to the work, which necessi- Anadditional object of this invention is to tated the use of metalpatterns; the cutting force 15 improve the construction and operation ofmah s to e ppli y the perator; and a mechines ol' the characterdescribed so that mechanical advantage means of any real efi'ectivechanical advantage mean may b utilized betype cannot be used because theoperator has to tween the manual controls and the parts p o a certainextent. p his se c ntr lled th r by which will reduce th effort touch inorder to determine if the tracer was in on the part of the operatorwithoutloss of rep p C t wi h th p ternodueti accuracy, In-anon-automatic type of machine, such as A still iurther object of thisinvention is to t is it will be ev d nt hat t tra r. patt rn.

improve the construction and control of copying and the efiect Producedby the tWQl-IPOH the 95 machi s of the on-automatic, ty whereby sense oftouch of the operator, constitute a pilot- 5 lighter pressuresbetweenthe tracer and pating means which is utilized and interpreted bythe t r r d ed possibIe so that th r th operator to guidethe tool over adesired path. metal patterns may be utilized in such machines. In Othero there is d t ection be- Other objects and advantages of the presenttween the P g means and the controls invention should be readilyapparent by whereby one automatically controls the other. 30 referenceto the following specification, com The term pilo g means is thus usedin sidered in conjunction with the accompanying this specification inthe sense of a means for dedrawings forming a part thereof and it is tobe termining e tOOIS p sition; the u se or understood that anymodifications may be made courses over which the tool is to be moved;and

in the exact structural details there shown and when a change in courseshould be made so that described, within the scope of the appended thesummation of all the courses represented by claims, without departingfrom or exceeding the the completed path of the tool will produce aspirit of the invention. finished outline whichis congruent to the out-Referring to the drawings in which like e Scanned y e a referencenumerals indicate like or similar parts: n his invention t e mach ne sprovided with 40 Figure 1 isa front elevation of a machine tool animprov d form of pilotin m a s which makes embodying the principles ofthis invention. possible other improvements in the machine with Figure 2is a vertical section through the tracer the net result that the laborof operat n the head. machine is materially reduced; that precision ac-Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. curacy may beobtained; that patterns of softer 45 Figure 4 is a diagram of theelectrical control material than metal can be utilized; and'that acircuit. saving in time per piece may be effected. Figure 5 is a sectionon the line 5-5 of Figure 3. In Fi 1 ,i an mpla y; embodiment of Figure6 is a' diagram of the operating and the machine, the principal'elementsof which control circuit of the machine. comprise a base or bed III; atable it recipro- 5o In a conventional form of copying machine cablymounted on guideways I2.fo'rmed on the of the non-automatic type knowninthe art as a bed; and a portion l3 upstanding from the bed profilingmachine, a first slide' is-p'rovided which and having guideways ll uponwhich is reciproe carries a'tool and tracer, and asecond slide is cablymounted a horizontally movable ram Ii. provided which carries" the workand pattern.' 'Aspindle carrierjli is-vertically'guided inthe 55 forwardendof the ram l5 for up and down movement and this carrier has a toolspindle |1 journaled therein for rotating a tool or cutter I8.

A bracket I9 is attached to the side of the car- 5 rier l6 and has ahorizontal extending dovetail guideway 20 for receiving and supporting aslide 2|. This slide supports a second slide 22 for adjustment in ahorizontal direction at right angles to the direction of movementof theslide 2|;-

The slide 22 supports a piloting means indicated generally by thereference numeral 23. I

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, the piloting means includes a tracerhead 24 having a vertical axis 25 which is parallel to the vertical axisof the cutter spindle and these axes normally lie in a vertical 'planewhich is parallel to the depression 3| which engages a ball 32, the ballresting in a comically-shaped depression 33 formed in the upper end of atracer arm 34. The tracer arm has a spherically-shaped portion 35 bywhich it is supported in the end 36 of the tracer head for universalmovement. A tracer or stylus 31 is integrally attached to the lower endof the tracer arm for engagement with the pattern. From the foregoing itwill be noted that the tracer is supported for lateral movement ordeflection and that the spring 30 acting through the vertical plunger 21and the ball 32 act to normally maintain the tracer in a verticalposition, that is, with its axis parallel to the cutter spindle axis.The tracer head has indicating means associated therewith which signaltothe operator the manner in which he should operate the controls or themachine, and this indicating means 15 is operated by the tracer andtherefore it is necessary that the tracer be supported for movement bythe pattern so that a motivating agent may be provided. It iscontemplated in the normal operation of'this machine that throughout thecutting operation the tracer shall be deflected a predetermined amountand a signal provided to indicate when the tracer is deflected thispredetermined amount, as well as other signals to indicate when thisamount is exceeded or diinih ished so that the operator is enabled, withthe assistance oi! these signals, to maintain the tracer alwaysdeflected this predetermined amount and thus be able to produce aworkpiece which is an exact duplicate of the pattern.

As previously mentioned, prior machines had a tracer which was equal indiameter to the diameter of the cutter for duplicating operations, butin the machine of this invention, since it is necessary to have thetracer'deflectible, a correction is necessary and the tracer portionwhich contacts the pattern should be larger in radius than the cutter byan amount equal to the afore mentioned predetermined deflection. Thepattem and work piece must still be set up on the machine in the mannerpreviously described.

' Due to the conical depressions in opposing ends of'members 21 and 34,the intervening ball 32,

- and the spring 30 which always maintains these parts in contact, itwill be evident that ,when the portion 35 is resting upon the support 35and the ticularly shown in Figure 5.

tracer is deflected that the upper end of the tracer arm will moverelative to the axis oi. the plunger 21 and roll the ball 32 on theconical depressions to cause upward movement of plunger 21. On the otherhand, if the tracer 31 is moved axially so as to raise the portion 35ofi of the seat 36 the same effect will be produced on plunger 21. Themovement of the plunger 21 is utilized as the motivating agent foractuating the signal mechanism.

This mechanism comprises a cross 'arm 38 mounted on a reduced portion 39of the upper end of the plunger and held in place by the member 49threaded on the end of the plunger. A pair of switching members 4| and42 are pivotally supported in the tracer'head, as more par- Thesupporting means comprises a fixed conical point 43 engaging one side ofthe member and an adjustable conical point 44 engaging the other side ofthe member, whereby an exact fit may be obtained for free movementwithout lost motion. The member 4| is likewise supported on a flxedconical point 45, and an adjustable-conical point 46. springs 41 and 48are interposedbetween a fixed member 49 and the members 42 and 4| forconstantly urging the members in an upward direction to close thecircuits controlled by each.

The switching member 42 has a flexible lead 55 connected to the contact5| carried by the mem: ber 42, which is adapted to engage a contact 52carried by, but insulated from, the member 49.

- The contact 52 has a flexible lead 53 electrically connected thereto.As shown in Figure 4, the lead 53 may be connected to a power main 54and the lead 50 may be connected to a light 55. In order to complete thecircuit, an additional line 56 connects the light to a second power main51. Thus, when the switching member 42 is raised by the spring 48 thecircuit is closed and the light 55 will be turned on.

The switching member 4| is similarly constructed and has a flexible lead58 connected thereto, leading to'light 59 and the other terminal of thelight is connected. by -a line 50 to the power main 51. The member 49carries a second contact member 5| insulated therefrom and connected bya' lead 62 to power main 54. The contact members 52 and 5| are threadedin sleeves to permit vertical adjustment thereof, and lock nuts 53 areprovided for securing them in adjusted position.

It will be noted from Figure 2'-that the cross bar 39 engages the upperside of the switching members 4| and 42 and when the tracer is held inan undeflected position by the spring 39, the plunger 21 is in itslowermost position, and .in

this position the cross bar holds the switching,

the member 21, caused by defl tion of thetracer,

the switching member 42 will close its circuit before the switchingmember 4| closes its circuit. The amount of movement that the member 21has, after permitting the switching member 42 to close its, circuit andwhen it permits. the

switching member 4| to close its circuit, corresponds to the permissiblevariation of the tracer in its predetermined deflected position. Inother words, when the tracer'is out 01. contact with the r sumcientamount to permit the switching member ,42 to close its circuit, thelight 55, which is a white light, is illuminated as a signal to theoperator that the tracer is deflected the desired working amount. Withinpermissible variations, depending upon the precision limitsof accuracyandthereby the setting of the contact member 6|, the tracer maybe/defiected a slight additional amount without changing the signallights. When this permissibl'e variable has been exceeded, however, theswitching member 4| will close its circuit, which will illuminate light59 which is a red light, and thus signal to the operator that the amountof tracer defiectionhas been exceeded and that adjustments should bemade to reduce the amount of tracer deflection.

In addition to the lights, an indicator 64 is mounted in the tracer headand has a spring pressed plunger 65 adapted to engage the member 40whereby upward movement of the plunger.

, 2'! will cause rotation of the indicator pointer I56- in a clockwisedirection. The 'dial may be suitably graduated micrometrically f inthousandths of an inch or less and a zero graduation 67 provided toindicate when the tracerhas the predetermined desired amount ofdeflection, whereby variations from this predetermined amount, eitherabove or below, may be read on the dial.

5 As an example, the pointer 60 may take up a position five points orrhumbs counterclockwise from the zero point 61 when the tracer isundefiected and as the tracer is deflected by engagement with thepattern, the pointer 66 may move three rhumbs clockwise before the whitelight is illuminated. The pointer 66 may not only be movable over tworhumbs counterclockwise from the zero point but also two' rhumbsclockwise from the zero point, wliile the white light is illuminated andbefore the red light is illuminated. If the tracer is deflected anexcessive amount beyond this range, then the red light is illuminated,and as a further signal to the operator an audible signal in the form ofan electrical buzzer or bell 68 may be connectedin series with a lightv59, as shown in the diagram' of Figure 4, to insure that the operatordoes not overrun the desired outline. Thus, the pointer may be movableover a certain range, the limits of .which represent the plus and minuslimits of accuracy within which the pattern is to be reproduced and thewhite light alone is a signal to the operator that he is staying withinthose limits and therefore indicates that the deflection of the traceris coarsely adjusted somewhere between these safe limits and thepointer. indicates the exact or fine adjustment of the tracer de- 75controls may now be connected to the parts to be moved through themedium of any desired type k of power amplifying or' mechanicaladvantage mechanism. Advantage is taken of this situation to providesuch a-mechanism which is of such a nature that it will relieve theburden on the oper- 5 ator of providing the cutting force which wasnecessary in prior machines, as previously described. a

A manual control in the form of a hand wheel 69 is provided on the frontof the bed It and op- 10 eratively connected for movement of the tableII; and a second hand wheel 10 is supported on the front of the bed Itand operatively connected for moving the ram I5 toward and from thefront of the machine, or in other words, transversely over 15 the tableII. In addition, a pair of hand wheels H and I2 are supported on thevertical slide I0 and operatively connected for causing verticalmovement of the slide, the two hand wheels being connected to the samemechanism. The pur- 20 pose of providing two hand wheels is merely forconvenience of operating the machine from diiferent stations.

Each of these hand wheels may be connected for operation of itsrespective slide through the 25 -medium of a servo-motor mechanism whichmay be of any conventional form and the particular form utilized doesnot constitute a part of this and is controlled-by a servo-valvemechanism indicated generally by the reference numeralfit. Theservo-valve is operated by a sprocket wheel 40 15, which is operativelyconnected through suitable means to the hand wheeltQ whereby rotation ofthe hand wheel will shift the servo-valve out of a stop position and afeed back rod 76 will reposition the valve to a stop position. 45

The ram It is moved by a piston and cylinder mechanism, indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral ii, and a servo-valve mechanism,indicated generally by the reference numeral it, is utilized to controlthe fiqw to said cylinder. The

50 servo-valve is operated by a sprocket wheel l9 operatively connectedthrough suitable means to the hand wheel iii to initiate flow to one endor the other of the cylinder and a feed back rod 30 serves to repositionthe valve to-a stop position.

The vertical slide it is moved by a piston and cylinder mechanism,indicated generally by the reference numeral M, the piston in this casebeing stationary and the cylinder being the movable member. The cylinderis connected to a servo- 60 valve mechanism, indicated generally by thereference numeral 8 i, and the valve is operated by a bevel gear 83operatively connected to the hand wheelsiZ and "ii.

F'luid pressure may be supplied to these servomotor mechanisms from asuitable source of pressure, such as the series of pumps M, d5, 8E andill, operated by prime movers 88 and d9.

For profiling operations in which the pattern and work lie, forinstance, in a horizontal plane on the table, the vertical slide ismoved downward by means of either hand wheel H or 712 until the tracerand cutter are in such a position that a relative lateral movement.between the cutter and work will efiect interen'gagenient thereof andthen the hand wheels." and 10 are manipulated in accordance with thesignals from the piloting means to maintain the tracer in contact with.the pattern and at the desired amount of deflection while the cutter istraversed around the work piece.

In addition to simple profiling operations, as

just described, the machine may also be utilized for die-sinkingoperations, in which case, after the tracer has been engaged with thepattern the hand wheel I2, for instance, and the hand wheel 59 aremanipulated in such a fashion that the cutter is moved up and downduring traversing movement of the table II. venient and time-saving totraverse the pattern transversely of the table I l, the table may beleft stationary and the hand wheel 10 manipulated in conjunction withthe hand wheel I l, whereby the plane of the cut will lie crosswise ofthe table. In some metal removing operations the surface to be producedis a plane surface requiring, for instance, merely the setting of thecutter to depth after which one or more of the slides II and I5 aremanipulated to effect the cut. If the cut begins at a shoulder on thepattern or ends at a shoulder, the piloting means will automaticallysignal when the shoulder has been reached and that a new course ordirection of movement of the cutter should be effected. The pilotingmeans thus signals, to the operator in any case when a change in course,that is,. a selection of a new course or. direction of movement of thecutter, should be efiected.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that manually controlled poweramplifying means have been providcd for steering the tool along anydesired path with respect to the work and that the piloting systemindicates, not only when the tool has penetrated the work the desiredamount to produce the desired surface, but also clockwise orcounterclockwise departures of the tool while traversing from thedesired path as predetermined by the pattern.

It is to be understood that the machine in connection with which theinvention has been described has been selected for illustrative purposesonly, and the invention is not to be considered as confined to theparticular machine shown, it having equal application to other metalworking machines, including grinding machines wherever it is possible tovary the relation between the tool and work in a direction angularlyrelated to a general traversing direction.

There has thus been provided an improved copying machine of thenon-automatic typ which has an improved form of piloting means which ismore sensitive and accurate than prior structures and which makespossible the use of other than metal patterns or masters, due to lightertracer pressure and also the use of power amplifying means between themanual controls and the parts moved, thereby reducing the operator'slabors.- I claim;

1. In a profiling machine, the combination with manually operable meansfor steering a tool along a path predetermined by a pattern in contactwith a tracer, of a first signaling means to indicate clockwisedepartures of the tool from said path, and additional means to signalcounterclockwise departures of the tool from said path.

' 2. In a copying machine the combination with manually operable meansfor steering a tool along a path predetermined by a pattern in contactwith a tracer, of a first visual signaling means to If it is moreconindicate clockwise departures of the tool from said path, additionalvisual signaling means to indicate counterclockwise departures of thetool from said path, one of said signaling means also including anaudible signal.

3. In a copying machine the combination with manually operable means forsteering a tool along a path predetermined by a pattern, of a tracer incontact with said pattern, a first signal light to indicate clockwisedepartures of the tool from said path, a second signal light to indicatecounterclockwise departures of the tool from said path, and meansoperatively connecting said signal lights for control by said tracer.

4. In a copying machine, the combination with manually operable meansfor steering a tool alon a path predetermined by a pattern, of a firstsignal light to indicate departures of the tool to one side of saidpath, a second signal light for indicating departures of said tool tothe other side of said path, a tracer in contact with said pattern.electrical circuits connecting said lights for control by said tracer,and an audible signal connected in series in one of said circuits.

5. In a copying machine having a work support and a tool support, thecombination with a rotatable cutter journaled in said tool support, ofmanually operable means for effecting relative movement between thesupports in a direction whereby the cutter will penetrate the work, apattern, a signal light automatically illuminated by the pattern toindicate when the cutter has penetrated the work within the limitspredetermined by the pattern, and additional signaling meansautomatically operable by the pattern to indicate transgressions of saidlimits.

6. In a profiling machine, the combination with a work supporting slide,of a tool head, a tracer head connected'for concurrent movement with thetool head, a manual control operatively connected for effecting arelative feeding movement between the heads and the slide, a tracer armcarried by the tracer head, a second manual control operativelyconnected for eiIecting relative movement between the heads and slidein-a direction normal .to said feeding direction to maintain the tracerarm in contact with a pattern, said tracer arm being deflectiblerelative to the axis of the tracer head, and means responsive to anoverdefiected or underdeflected condition of the tracer to visuallyindicate either condition to the operator.

'7. In a contouring machine in which a cutter is moved over a work pieceto duplicate a pattern, the combination of a tracer arm adapted to beswung laterally about a fixed axis when engaging the pattern, a manualcontrol operatively connected for effecting relative movement betweenthe tracer and pattern and in a direction to increase or decrease theamount of tracer deflection, and means responsive to movement of thetracer to indicate positive or negative variations in the amount ofdeflection thereof.

8. In piloting means for a copying machine's. housing, a tracersupported for universal movement in the housing for deflection by apattern, electrically operated signaling means carried by the housingfor indicating either positive or negative variations of the tracer froma working deflected position, and means operable by the tracer 'forcontrolling said signaling means.

9. In a tracer mechanism, the combination of a housing, a tracer'armpivoted for universal movement in said housing, a pair of signal lightscarried by said housing, control circuits for the 15 tacts.

and means carried by the tracer forsuccessively closing said contactsduring unidirectional deflec-. tion of the tracer.

5 10. In a piloting mechanism for a copying ma chine, the combination ofa housing, a deflectible tracer, a pair of signal lights .carried by thehousing, one to indicate overdeflections of the tracer and the other toindicate a normal working de- 10 flected position of the tracer,individual switch contacts for controlling the electrical circuit toeach light, means normally urging the contacts to r a circuit closingposition, and means operable by the tracer for controlling the closingof said con- .11. In a tracer mechanism, a housing, a deflectibletracer,a plunger axially "movable by tracer deflection, a plurality of signallights carried by the housing to indicate difierent amounts of tracerdeflection, electrical control circuitsfor the lights, means operable bythe plunger for controlling said circuits, an indicator dial, and meansoperable by the plunger for simultaneously operating said dial whilecontrolling said lights,

12. In a piloting mechanism for a manually controlled copying machine,the combination oi a housing, auniversally deflectible tracer carried bythe housing for engaging apattern, a plurality of visual signals carriedby the housing for indicating different amounts of tracer deflection, anindicator dial for continuously recording the amount of'tracerdeflection, an audible signal for indicating overdeflections of thetracer, and means operatively connecting all of said parts for controlby the tracer.

MIILARD ROMAINE.

